


Flip This Dragon

by Ginger Jam (skylite), skylite



Category: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Genre: Gen, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-06
Updated: 2014-09-06
Packaged: 2018-02-16 09:26:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2264478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skylite/pseuds/Ginger%20Jam, https://archiveofourown.org/users/skylite/pseuds/skylite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An unexpected gift reminds Spike of his least proud moments, filling him with self-doubt.  Can Twilight and friends convince him that there's more to being a dragon than he believes and fears?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Flip This Dragon

**Author's Note:**

> This story takes place after "Dragon Quest" and "Magic Duel", but before the events of "Spike At Your Service".

"Package for Twilight Sparkle!" The piercing-yet-pleasant voice of the mail delivery pony split the morning air, followed by a solid, library-shaking THUNK as the package was dropped from a great height. That was immediately followed by the flutter of wings. 

Twilight lifted her weary head from the pillow, blinking blearily at the sight of the grey pegasus flying off. Leaves of the branches disturbed by the mail pony's arrival and departure wafted past her bedroom window as the purple unicorn lifted a hoof to rub at her eyes. They'd been up late the previous night performing for the delegation from Saddle Arabia, and the celebration afterward had lasted long into the night. The fact that the rest of Ponyville had only just barely recovered from the damage done by Trixie the unicorn before the big event had not helped. Twilight, feeling responsible for Trixie's wrath, had felt obligated to help with every aspect of preparation and cleanup; she had also helped a nerve-wracked Fluttershy to bed with a cup of warm milk. After all that, Twilight had fallen into bed later than anypony else. "Ohhhh. What time is it?" 

"Too darn early if you ask me," complained Spike from the foot of her bed, groaning and reaching to pull his apple-decorated blanket over his head. But it was too late. Hoofbeats on the hardwood floor indicated that the damage was done. The noise, the sun shining brightly through the window, and the prospect of a new package had roused Twilight to full wakefulness. She was already in the bathroom splashing water on her face. Spike knew that if he didn't get up before she was done, a magicked washcloth, dripping with icewater, would be next. The little dragon sighed, and climbed from his warm bed. 

"I'll get breakfast started. Oat smoothie okay?" he asked, nudging his spines back into place and stretching his claws over his head.

"Fine," Twilight answered, breezing past the little dragon hard enough to leave him whirling in her wake as she raced down the stairs into the library proper. It took Spike a few seconds to recover, but he took the stairs two at a time on his little legs. By the time he reached the bottom of the stairs, Twilight had already retrieved the package and was carrying it to the nearest table. It was immense! Spike's affected disinterest evaporated in a spark of curiosity. "So what is it?"

Twilight turned to glance over her shoulder at Spike as he tied on his apron and reached for his chef's toque. She was blushing. "It's a package from the Crystal Empire library...which I only just remembered we left a terrible mess!" She face-hooved in remembrance and shook her head in embarrassment. 

"Twi," Spike said, in his best soothing voice, walking to his closest friend and patting her shoulder gently. "I think that Princess Cadance and everypony can forgive you for that considering everything you did for them when we were up there!" 

"Still," Twilight insisted. "It was terrible manners. Those poor, traumatized ponies had more important things to do than clean up after us. I can't accept this." 

"'Dear Twilight'," read Spike, having gone for the letter on top while Twilight was speaking. "'If I know you, you're fretting about the disarray the library was in after your research, the Crystal Fair, and the renewal of the Crystal Heart. Let me be the first to tell you -- DON'T! The Librarian and castle staff were only to happy to have the opportunity to revisit the volumes. Besides, even if you hadn't left the books on the floor and tables, there still would've been a thousand years worth of dust to clean up! So stop worrying and open your present! Love Cadance and Shining Armor'." Spike waggled the note at Twilight in his claw, smiling a little smugly.

Twilight grinned sheepishly, ducking her head. "No fair. My brother and sister-in-law ganged up on me," she protested, but it was obvious she wasn't really upset. Her horn began to twinkle as she invoked her magic. The brown paper wrapping around the parcel came off neatly. Twilight took a second to watch it fold carefully under her spell before she set it aside and unwrapped the pretty gift wrap emblazoned with her cutie mark. "BOOKS!" she squealed happily.

"They know you so well," Spike chuckled wryly, turning away to finally go into the kitchen.

"You too," Twilight said, and something hit the dragon in the back of his head, sending him tumbling head over heels into one of the reading stools Twilight kept all over the library. Once the stars stopped swimming before his eyes, Spike found himself looking at a little chest bearing a tag with his name on it.

"For me?" Spike opened it and found it full of assorted jewels, gems, and crystals. "Oh, wow!" His green eyes widened. "Yum!" He reached into the box and pulled out a pink crystal, licking his fangs. He had just enough time to consider picking another gem before Twilight took advantage of the moment of distraction to levitate the box out of his claws. "Hey!"

"You know as well as I do that you have to nibble them sparingly," Twilight chided, absently waggling a hoof as she magicked the chest out of Spike's reach, up the stairs, and away. Her attention was already back on the package of books. 

Spike sighed; Twilight was right, of course. She usually was. But it stung to the center of his little dragon heart to be reminded of all the trouble he'd caused when his dragon nature had gotten out of control. His first birthday in Ponyville had started as a celebration and he'd ruined his own special day. He turned his attention back to breakfast, tucking the pink crystal into the pocket of his apron, all elation at the unique new snack diminished by the recollection of his destructive rampage.

Spike moved like a sleepwalker -- preparing Twilight's oat smoothie and hay hash browns as if in a daze. It was really just familiarity with the task combined with his thoughts being elsewhere. He carried the tray out to the breakfast nook, to find Twilight sitting there with her nose deep in a book. "Breakfast," Spike said quietly, not wanting to startle her.

"Excellent!" Twilight's head popped up from the big tome in front of her, and she was smiling like it was reshelving day. "Look, Spike!" 

"Huh?" Spike shook off his mope to glance at the enormous book Twilight had turned toward him, even as the unicorn took the opportunity to sip at her smoothie. "'Dragon History and Culture?'" he read from the title page she'd turned to. 

"How?" Spike asked, wide-eyed, gingerly opening the cover and peering tentatively between the pages. 

"The Crystal Empire!" Twilight crowed excitedly. "They're the reason that we couldn't find any books on dragons in Ponyville or Canterlot! The dragon research has been done almost exclusively by Crystal Ponies, and when King Sombra banished the Empire for a thousand years, the library and all dragon research went with it! But now it's back! It's all back! There's so much new information to study about dragons and about Equestria in general! Isn't it WONDERFUL?!" 

"I ... can find out more about my own kind?" Spike stammered, stepping back from the book. "I'm ... I'm not sure I want to anymore." 

Twilight's expression fell, and she rose from the table to drape her foreleg around Spike's drooping shoulders. "You were practically obsessed over finding out who you were and where you came from," she reminded him. "This is a way you can do it without having to join another dragon migration, or having to fight other dragons." 

Spike pulled away from Twilight, claws clasped to his chest. "I was a monster, Twilight! I wrecked Sugarcube Corner. I stole all Applejack's apples, nearly destroyed Ponyville, kidnapped Rarity..." Spike's big green eyes began to well with tears as he trailed off, unable to continue the litany of his destructive tear through their home town.

"And remembered who you really are and reverted back to your old sweet self before any permanent damage could be done," Twilight countered in a firm voice with a stomp of her right forehoof to accent the point. "Nopony was hurt! You may have a dragon's tendency to hoard and be greedy, but there's more to you than that. If there weren't, there's no way anypony could've got through to you and returned you to the Spike we all know and love. So stop being a scaredy-dragon, and open the book! I'm dying to know all about dragons, but you really deserve to read it first." 

"Nah," Spike sighed, taking off his cooking clothing and returning to the kitchen. "I don't need a book to tell me anything more about being a dragon than I learned when I went on the migration. Dragons are big jerks." 

Twilight watched him go, a furrow between her brows, then went to find her parchment and quill. It was time to write a quick note to Fluttershy. A brief spell flash sent the note, and Twilight called, "I've got some errands to run, Spike. I'll be back later."

The dragon murmured his acknowledgement from the kitchen as Twilight trotted out into the morning. After a visit to the spa, Sugarcube Corner, and Quills and Sofas, Fluttershy was waiting for her friend at the little outdoor cafe they both liked.

"Oh, wow, really, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked in a tiny voice over a cup of tea. "How exciting! New books for your library and more history for Spike." For the mild-mannered pegasus, this was actually a rather gauche display of enthusiasm.

"That's just it," Twilight said, exasperation in her voice as she tapped a hoof on the table, setting her untouched teacup to sloshing on the tablecloth. "He's too freaked out by his last couple of dragon related adventures to even try. I thought you might have a suggestion. You were so thrilled to meet him when we arrived."

Fluttershy's cheeks pinkened as she recalled being almost too shy to speak a full sentence to Twilight until she laid eyes on Spike. "Oh, well, I'd be happy to try and help Spike remember that he hasn't had any terrible dragon behavior since that one time if you think it will help." 

"It couldn't hurt," Twilight muttered pensively. "He doesn't want to listen to me about it -- but I guess that's fair. I wasn't much help to him, which prompted him to join the dragon migration in the first place." 

Fluttershy winced. "I still owe Rainbow Dash for that -- maybe I can make it up to her with something from the Daring Do souvenir collection. Shall we go back to the library for now and see if we can convince Spike?"

"Convince Spike of what?" The new voice belonged to Rarity, who was on her way back from the train station, saddlebags full to bursting with purchases that had arrived from Canterlot. 

"That doing research on dragons won't just be more of the same bad stuff he's already learned from experience," Twilight explained, blowing her mane out of her face in frustration. "We got some new books from the Crystal Empire that include dragon history -- dragon history! -- and he won't even look at them!"

Rarity was silent for a moment, lashes half-mast in thought. "Poor Spikey-wikey," she said. "So overcome with guilt that he can't see past it. It wasn't even his own fault! Nopony could've predicted that a birthday party would lead to him running amok with greed!" She shrugged, re-positioning her saddlebags. "But honestly, darling," Rarity continued, "it's simplicity itself. You just have to remind him that nopony less than Princess Celestia herself still trusts him to courier messages between Canterlot and Ponyville. If he was such a monster in training, she surely would've decreed he be chained up!" 

"That does make sense, but putting it that way may scare Spike even worse," Fluttershy offered thoughtfully. "But perhaps reminding him of all the great things he's done since will remind him of what a good little guy he is." 

As the trio of ponies got up to begin the walk back to the library, Rainbow Dash swooped down from above. "Mornin', girls! What's going on? You all look so serious."  
"Spike's depressed," Rarity explained.

"Depressed? What's he got to be depressed about?" Dash demanded, flapping to land beside her friends. "We beat Trixie at her own game, the delegation had a blast at the event, and it's a beautiful day!" 

Twilight brought Rainbow Dash up to speed, recounting the morning's events and Spike's reluctance to even consider cracking open the books of dragon history they'd received. "Maybe he's just not much of an egghead like you," was Dash's first suggestion, followed immediately by an apologetic grin as Fluttershy and Rarity glowered at her insensitive remark. "What I mean is, he wasn't crazy about books before, except for when you guys tried to find out what kind of dragon he was. "

"He doesn't mind reading," Twilight stomped a hoof in annoyance. "He reads for fun. He's just got the idea in his spiny little head that if he reads more about dragons, he'll just get confirmation of what he already knows -- and fears."

"That's silly," scoffed Dash, rolling her eyes. "Spike's one of a kind."

"Well, of course he is, darling," Rarity agreed.

"No, no," Rainbow Dash shook her head and gestured skyward with a wing. "I mean that literally, you guys. Didn't you notice that out of all the dragons we saw in the migration, there were none who looked like Spike, though there were lots and lots who looked like each other?" 

Twilight and Rarity exchanged glances. Fluttershy, who had run off to hide from the migration, just looked between the other three ponies. "Really? Spike is so unique he stands out from other dragons?"   
"Heck, yeah," Rainbow Dash grinned, lifting back into the air. "Maybe you guys didn't catch it, but I'm an ace flyer! You don't get as good as me without paying close attention to the minute details of whatever else you may encounter in the sky!" 

"Wonderful!" beamed Twilight, as they trotted back into sight of the library. "We have lots of reasons now for Spike to give studying dragon history a shot." As they opened the door, Twilight opened her muzzle to call him, but Spike was sitting on the stairs, staring across the room at the giant book as if it might come to life and bite him. "Oh, there you are, Spike. Before you start on your chores, we thought you might want to read from the book to us." 

Spike blinked, as if waking from a daydream. "Hi, Rainbow. Hi, Fluttershy...good morning, Rarity." Just seeing the unicorn always lifted Spike's spirits and this morning was no exception. It was short-lived, though, as he shook his head. "No way, Twilight."

"Yes way," Fluttershy said, in what was, for her, a very firm voice. "Don't you remember you told me your whole life story up to the day you arrived in Ponyville, and promised to tell me more about dragonkind?" She daintily cantered over to a stool and sat down. "Now you can." 

"But--" Spike protested, only to have Rarity place her right forehoof over his mouth. 

"Now you listen to me, Spikey-wikey," she said, tilting her head to meet his eyes. "Everypony makes mistakes. It's a part of growing up. But besides that, if there was even a tiny parasprite-sized chance of you being a truly bad old beast of a dragon, do you think Princess Celestia would still trust you as her messenger? Or to stay on here as Twilight's friend and assistant? She is the wisest of us all!" 

Spike blinked. "I ... I hadn't thought of that." He slowly pulled his eyes off Rarity's face to glance warily at the book again. "But why didn't she tell me that might happen?" 

"Duh!" Rainbow Dash interjected from above the stairs. "Because even if you did slip into dragon greed, she trusted us, your best friends, to get you back on the right path!" She drifted down to pat Spike on the head with a wing. "Besides, you may not have noticed, being so close to the situation and all, but you're kinda different as dragons go." 

"Different?" Spike repeated, tilting his head in puzzlement. "Different how?" 

Dash headbutted Rarity out of the way, much to the unicorn's indignance, and tossed her foreleg over Spike's shoulders. "It's like this, Spike, old pal," the pegasus began, and launched into a detailed description of the dragon types she'd seen while watching the migration and while keeping an eye out for Spike after following him. Spike's jaw hung open in astonishment when she was finished, and the other three ponies looked equally impressed. "There wasn't another one like you -- which means that even though you're a dragon, you may still have less in common with those jerk dragons than you think! Which, by the way, you knew already. Pee Wee could've told you that if he hadn't flown off with his parents."

Spike blinked, and glanced over at the framed pictures of himself with the baby phoenix. "Oh, yeah," he murmured. "I stood up to those dragons to protect the egg. I didn't want to smash it or eat it, come to think of it."

"Sounds like you have found a reason for yourself, then," Twilight suggested, and with that, the large leatherbound tome floated over to Spike on a glowing cloud of pink magic. "You want to read it alone? We can find something else to do..."

"No," Spike shook his head, slowly lifting the heavy cover open again. "You ponies went to all this trouble to shake me out of my attack of nerves. You're my best friends. If I can't share this with you, who can I share it with?" 

"Great!" Rainbow Dash gave Spike another enthusiastic thump on the back, almost sending dragon and book tumbling down the stairs. 

Rarity conjured her red close work glasses. "In case you have trouble with unfamiliar words, Spikey-Wikey." 

Fluttershy stayed where she was, but fixed Spike with an attentive gaze. 

Twilight drew the curtains and lit a few candles, then locked the library door so they would not be disturbed. Once her hoofbeats had settled into stillness, Spike began to read aloud.

"It appears that the reason there is so little dragon lore from Canterlot or Ponyville or anywhere else, is that only Crystal Ponies can soothe a dragon with their powers of love and peacefulness that they imbue in their Crystal Heart. That explains why nopony else is able to get close enough to a dragon guarding its hoard. The Crystal Ponies look the part, but can calm a dragon's greed and territorial nature. Wow!" 

Spike dropped into silence, still reading, until Twilight cleared her throat. "Forget to read out loud?" she teased gently.

"Huh? Oh...oh, right." Spike gave his friends a sheepish little smile and backtracked. Some of the dragons he described from the first chapter of the book were amongst the ones he had met during the migration -- the book went on to explain that the dragons he met were adolescents, scarcely older than Spike himself, and part of that phase of their lives was competitiveness. "Bullying if you ask me," grumbled Spike as he turned the page.

"Chapter two: noble dragons." Spike's eyes lit up the same way they did anytime he got a jewel. "Noble dragons," he repeated, pointing excitedly to the page. 

Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash all crowded in to see. 

"Noble Dragons are breeds of dragon still prone to the hoarding tendency, but their personalities are much gentler and kinder. They are rarer in the world because of this -- they are not especially prone to fighting over land or hoards, but much prefer noble pursuits such as guarding treasure ..."

\--end--


End file.
